1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a device for providing supplementary information related to audio and/or video material.
2. Description of the Related Art
The “background” description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in the background section, as well as aspects of the description which may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly or impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
In recent years, it has become increasingly common for media content items, such as movies or television shows, to be associated with supplementary information such as subtitles, closed captioning, an audio description and/or additional dialogue (such as dialogue in a different language to dialogue used in a media content item). This supplementary information may be presented to a user simultaneously with playback of a media content item, and improves the user's enjoyment of the media content item. The use of supplementary information is particularly useful for people who have impaired hearing (in the case of closed captioning), who speak a different language to that used in the media content item (in the case of subtitles or additional dialogue), or who are visually impaired (in the case of audio description), for example.
Closed captioning and subtitles are written versions of dialogue or sounds that occur during playback of a media content item. They are usually provided on-screen as words overlaid on top of the content that is being played back. The problem with this, however, is that although the closed captioning or subtitles are very useful for users who have impaired hearing or need translation, having them overlaid on top of the content being played back can be quite disruptive to the viewing experience of other users.
An audio description is a spoken description of the on-screen content which is provided during playback of a media content item. The sound of the audio description can be heard in addition to the usual sounds (dialogue, etc.) associated with the content being played back. Again, however, the problem with audio description is that although the audio description is very useful for users who have a visual impairment, the extra sound of the audio description can be quite disruptive to the viewing experience of other users. Similarly, additional dialogue, which is usually heard in addition to the usual sounds associated with the content being played back, is also disruptive to the viewing experience of users who do not require it.
Embodiments of the present disclosure help to alleviate the above problems.